LIHU‘E — Zumba is on tap when Kalaheo School hosts its monthly Walk to School event starting at 7 a.m. at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center Wednesday. Jenn Linton, the Safe Routes to School coordinator, said there will be no new
LIHU‘E — Zumba is on tap when Kalaheo School hosts its monthly Walk to School event starting at 7 a.m. at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center Wednesday.
Jenn Linton, the Safe Routes to School coordinator, said there will be no new schools jumping onto the Walking School Bus and Wednesday’s event, coinciding with the fourth Wednesday of the month, is the final one for 2011.
At least three schools, including Kapa‘a Elementary will be joining Kalaheo School in participating in the Walk to School event coordinated by Get Fit Kaua‘i and the County’s Safe Routes to School Task Force.
“Our next new school interested in joining the Walking School Bus is Kekaha Elementary School and they should be ready for the January 2012 Walk to School,” Linton said during a meeting of the SRTS task force, last week at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.
Pat Gegen is the Walk to School (W2S) coordinator for Kalaheo School and a member of the task force, updating the committee on the program in Kalaheo.
Deputy County Engineer Lyle Tabata said the county is working to get the W2S routes to become more in compliance with the SRTS program, Kalaheo’s issues with potholes and crosswalks to be fixed and the crosswalk at Papalina Road will be re-striped to direct pedestrian traffic to sidewalks.
Tabata said there is a need to do education to residents on sharrows, or roads which are shared by vehicles and bicycles.
Sharrows are utilized in a lot of the areas where schools are located as students ride their bicycles to school, competing with drivers in a rush to get to school and work.
Drawings are in final preparation for the Koloa Elementary School, the contractor is on board, but has been put on hold until everything is re-evaluated, Tabata said.
Some of the plans surrounding the Koloa School route include the restriping of roads, leveling and re-doing the sidewalks to make them five-feet wide, replacing the sidewalks that do not meet the standards, the creation of five-foot pedestrian and bike lanes on Po‘ipu Road, utilizing sharrows, and the integration of traffic calming design by narrowing lanes.
Addressing the concerns of vehicular traffic speed in residential areas, Tabata said there might be a need to go through the Kaua‘i County Council to effect a change in the speed limit to 15 mph through Waikomo Road where a five-foot pedestrian lane from the Times Big Save to Po‘ipu Road will be installed, Teddy Blake, mentioning that it takes a concerted effort to educate the public, and the public will need to be educated on all of the changes to SRTS compliance.
Blake said Koloa School’s first W2S was held on May 18 and they are planning for more W2S days in 2012 with an emphasis on making the route safer.
Tabata said the challenges at the Kilauea Elementary School are more daunting.
“The plan is not so simple,” he said. “We wanted to put in additional crosswalks and other speed control devices.”
He said the school has installed signage at the back entrance for “no drop off, or pick up,” and the final short-term analysis is the county needs the community’s help to shorten the route to school because the route involves working with several homeowners to allow right-of-way through their property, reducing the route by approximately three-quarters of a mile.
Jennifer Antony, who brought her son to the meeting, asked for more immediate remedies, noting there is a lack of school signage and speed limits until past the school.
She said Kilauea School has done three W2S events, all of which were “well attended.”
“Kilauea School has a lot of children who naturally walk to school,” Antony said. “The school’s PTSA is sponsoring two more bikes to give away at the end of eight months, keeping track of who is participating and having drawings at each event along with snacks and drinks.”
A redesign of the major intersection near Kawaihau Road and Malihuna Road is one of the proposals for the Kapa‘a High School and Elementary School.
Tabata said the county is looking at installing an oval roundabout to fit that area, the objective being to create just one major crosswalk in the area rather than having three crosswalks which currently exist. Appropriate striping in the area is needed to make the area more conducive to walking and bicycling with the appropriate signage.
Tabata said the Elsie Wilcox Elementary School will be the beneficiary of the engineering for the Lihu‘e Town Core plan which is currently taking place.
Some of the plans for the area include a major retrofit of Hardy and Umi Streets, including sidewalks on both side and bike lanes with travel lanes up to 10-feet wide.
Marie Williams of the county’s Planning Department said the Lihu‘e Public Library wants to develop a storage area, and would extend the sidewalk on Hardy Street, the example being a demonstration of how development can support Complete Streets and SRTS.
